Basement Blues
by TheVeryWorstWriter
Summary: Zack and Cody are messing around in the basement of the hotel. The door is blocked and the boys are injured. One shot brotherly.


**My first short story. First story I've ever finished in my life actually. Reviews appreciated. Enjoy!**

BASEMENT BLUES

"Arwin said he'd meet us in ten minutes," Cody reminded Zack.

"I know I know."

"You had your headphones on when he was talking."

"Well, I do now. Thanks bro," Zack slapped him on the back.

"At least he said thanks," Cody muttered under his breath. "Cool!" The younger twin heard his brother say. He immediately ran to catch up, knowing trouble was ahead if he didn't. When Cody entered the room, he had the same reaction as Zack: "Whoa..." It looked like a big vacuum cleaner. There was a rectangular shaped box with a tube coming out of it. Blinking dials littered the side of it. They picked up a slip of paper that was attached to the machine.

ZCBASEP - Automated Pitcher. Reminder: Fix glitch before using.

"Alright," Zack picked up a bat from the floor and proceeded to press the 'Start' button.

"Stop! Didn't you read the tag?" Cody stopped the older twin. "Nope," he replied and did a practice swing.

"It says there's a glitch! Do you want to destroy this room?"

"Fine."

Ten minutes seemed to be a long time for the boys, and they started talking fill the void of silence.

"Have you finished that essay that's due tomorrow?"

"What essay?"

"Do you even try?"

"If you can just get by in school, what's the point in going all out?"

"It gives you an education and a future."

"Well I already know my future. And education is not vital."

"Sure it is. I bet you need one to be a super spy."

"What about race car driving?"

"You need to pass the test for your license."

"Race car drivers don't need licenses. They're too cool."

"Everybody needs a license."

"Not if you're living on the streets."

"Touché. But is that really your goal in life Zack?"

"Of course not. I'll just become a CEO."

"That involves education as well."

"Then I'll become a farmer!" Zack puffed and crossed his arms in defeat.

Cody started to laugh at him. "You wouldn't survive at farming, you're too lazy." Zack glared at him and started chasing him. They ran in the tiny space with difficulty. After about 2 minutes Zack gave up.

"See what I mean," Cody pointed at him.

Zack sat against the wall and panted, "Whatever." When the ten minutes were up, Cody became confused. "I'm gonna go see what's up," Cody left the room.

"He says I can't do anything. I'll show him. I'll become a big baseball star." Zack picked up the bat and did a few more practice swings and pressed the button. The whole thing lit up. The blinking dials were switching colours from red to blue to yellow. Zack stepped back and got into a batting position on the big X in the middle of the room.

PITCH ONE!

The machine spoke and big yellow letters appeared on the front of the box. Zack gripped the handle tightly. A ball shot out and Zack hit it perfectly. It hit the ceiling and bounced back to him. He stepped away from the hazardous ball and got into batting position again.

PITCH TWO!

The machine rattled and blue letters appeared this time. A ball shot out, a bit quicker this time but Zack easily handled it. The ball came back and hit his shin, hard. Zack rubbed it and limped back to the spot. He wasn't going to give up. He'd prove Cody wrong. He'd prove him wrong.

PITCH THREE!

Red letters appeared and the ball shot out. Zack ducked because no man could swing that fast. The ball hit the back wall and it was a blur. "Zack I couldn't find-" and ball hit him square on the forehead. Cody collapsed and Zack ran over to him, "uh oh. Mom's not gonna be happy."

PITCH THREE PITCH THREE!

The machine started spewing ball after ball out of the tube and Zack brought Cody into the middle of the room where he lay stomach down. He closed his eyes and wished for this to be over. All of the sudden the machine started getting bigger and bigger. Zack could hear the creaking of metal. Cody was unconscious and couldn't hear anything. Zack still whispered in his ear: "We're going to be okay, we're going to be okay..." Zack heard a BOOM and all went dark.

When Cody woke up, he felt pain everywhere. His temple hurt, his legs seemed to be pinned and he couldn't feel his arm. He sat up as best he could and yelped when he moved his left arm. 'It must be broken,' he thought. 'What happened to this place? What did Zack do this time? Zack!'

"Zack," he throat tickled and rasped. He tried again and it seemed to be louder this time. "ZACK!"

"Cody!" An also battered voice came through the dust. Cody heard a couple of rocks move after that. Cody felt a hand on his shoulder, and he cautiously asked," Zack?"

"It's me buddy... Are... you okay?"

"I can't feel most of my limbs, but ya. You?"

"I...think...I...dislocated my knee..." A few grunts followed.

"Don't move it. When they rescue us they can fix it, okay?"

"Okay. Look I'm...sorry man, this is all my...fault."

"What's done is done. Can you stand on one leg?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"My legs are under a piece of ceiling."

"I'll lift it! Hold on." Zack felt around and crawled to the wreckage that sat on top of Cody. He grabbed both ends of it and thought of all of his basketball practices all of the times he hit baseballs. He knew that if he was strong then, he could be strong again. He pulled with all of his might and lifted the clump an inch.

"Just a bit further Zack, I'll pull my legs back." With a grunt the piece of ceiling was lifted higher. Cody pulled his legs back and Zack let it down with a thump. "Ah, that feels better."

"What else is wrong Cody? I know that wasn't the only thing."

"I broke my arm," he said and stood up as best he could. Zack suddenly had an idea. "Remember...Arwin kept a First Aid under the counter?"

"Great idea, Zack! I think I can find it." Cody felt around the wreckage for a solid counter.

- Outside the basement.

Carey was panicking. It was a big explosion. What if her boys didn't survive? What if they did and were severely injured? Questions floated around the room. Rocks and pieces of sharp wood and plaster blocked the entrance to the basement. Fire department had said it would take them awhile to shovel all the stuff away from the opening. They also said there was a good chance the boys are okay since the explosion had been one-sided. Mr. Moseby had been helping with the shovelling and calming down all of the guests - including Carey. He was concerned for the boys. He never liked to admit it, but he always thought of them like nephews. Destructive ones for sure, who loved to make his life miserable. But they were like family, and he would hate to see them hurt.

- Inside the basement.

"I think I found it," Cody shouted. He felt inside the small container for anything medical. He felt a bag and a wrap of fabric. "Got it!"

"Finally," came the response.

Cody stumbled back over to Zack; who impatiently waited. Cody felt his way back over and handed his brother the case. "Zack, you're going to have to set it."

"No way dude. I... I was the one who got us in this mess. You're trusting me with your whole arm man," he winced and tried to stop shaking from the coldness that was setting in.

"I'll talk you through it okay? It won't be able to heal if you don't. It'll just get worse. I need it to be fixed to help us get out of here."

"If you trust me enough..." "I do. Now it's a clean fracture, just broken in two. Once you set it back, wrap it in the fabric tightly so it stays."

"I think I got it. How much will you scream?"

"A lot, but ignore me so you can do it properly. Kind of like pressure before the free throw in basketball."

"Okay. Okay." Zack took Cody's arm and Cody immediately let out an ear-piercing scream. "Shut up," Zack gritted his teeth.

"It's kind of hard," Cody managed. Zack took both sides of Cody's arm gently and Cody started whimpering. Ignoring his younger brothers' cries, Zack used all of his limited health class knowledge and twisted. He could hear the bone making a grinding noise. He started faster since Cody was shrieking: "Stop! STOP!"

And the bone slid into place.

Cody's face was stained with tears and he whispered in an octave higher than his normal voice. "The...bandage..."

"Right," Zack held Cody's arm with one hand and grabbed the medical bandage with the other. He unraveled it skillfully and slid a part of it under his right hand thumb and started to wrap. When he was done, he tied the end in a knot. "Can you do my knee?"

"Umm. Oh yeah, straighten out your leg and it should go back in place."

"Oh. I think I'll do that later..." Zack became quiet. "Why aren't you mad at me?"

"I am."

"Why aren't you trying to kill me?"

"Because we're both injured and there's no use getting in a fight if we have to work together anyways."

"Oh."

"Zack thanks for helping me."

"I was the one who did that to you. Makes sense if I fix it."

"But you did it even if it made you uncomfortable. I admire your courage."

"My courage?"

"Yeah, you'd go very far to protect those you care about. All I do is sit and watch."

"Which is admirable too. You have sense. You know what to do and what not to do"

"What help is that? I can't change their decisions."

"Nobody can. But you give them enough info for them to make an informed decision." Zack sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"You're smarter than you act."

"Huh?"

"I know it's an act Zack. Why are you containing it?"

"Cause I can never be as good as you. So what's the point?"

"The point is you prove to everyone that you have it in you. You also got other perks as well!"

"Like what."

"You are athletic, you've got way more charm than me, and you aren't scared ever."

"First of all, I get scared all the time. Remember that movie we watched?"

"Ya."

"That was creepy."

"ZOMBIE!"

"Where?!" Zack covered his eyes. It was a while before he realizes Cody was laughing. "That's not funny."

"Yes... It is!" He burst into a round of giggles. Zack waited till he calmed down and continued. "Second, didn't I mention you had smarts? There's plenty of things you can do better than me without athletic ability. Why do you want more?"

"I guess I am being kind of selfish."

"Appreciate what you've got man. And I know, I'm being selfish too. I'll change that."

"I guess it's not just me who's been having issues."

"We should talk alone more often."

"Definitely. Next time I have problems, Ill talk to you."

"Same here." The boys spirits had lifted and all of their pent up aggression melted away. "Zack, sorry I was so hard on you. You weren't trying to do anything harmful."

"That means a lot broseph. Thanks." They gave each other an awkward hug.

The boys were quiet until they heard a familiar voice. "Zack, Cody honey, are you okay?"

"Are you hooligans alright?"

"We're down here!" Zack yelled and tried to get up but Cody kept him down and reminded him that 911 was here. Probably with stretchers.

- The next day.

Cody had a cast on, but it was not infected whatsoever thanks to Zacks' handiwork. When Zack had his knee fixed, It had hurt twice as much since he didn't set it right away. He had been given a brace and had been told to take therapy for a few weeks. But overall, they would be fine.

Zack walked carefully into the living room and Carey handed him his tenth ice pack today. Cody followed him back into their room and closed the door behind him. "This has been a rough week, hasn't it?"

"No kidding," Zack chuckled. "At least we came out alive."

"The fire department told me after we had told them the story, that you saved my life by taking me in the middle of the room when I was unconscious. I just want to say thanks."

"Please don't say thanks. It was all my fault."

"It's behind us now. You saved my life before though."

"So that was an overall thanks?"

"Yeah. I'm glad I have you as a brother Zack."

"Me too Cody, me too."

THE END.


End file.
